P-I archive: Now and then on Fourth and Union

An early photo of Second Avenue and Union Street in Seattle and a later picture of Fourth Avenue and Union Street. See large copies of the photos here. (seattlepi.com file)

Today from the seattlepi.com archive we share are now and then picture comparison – almost.

The images have sat for years in the P-I’s oversize photo collection. I’d guess the bottom one is from the 1880s, the later photograph is from the late 1920s. (If you can help identify an exact date, please leave a comment below.)

The photos were combined decades ago for a now-and-then section in the Seattle P-I. Here’s the problem: If the bottom photo is marked correctly, they pictures don’t show the same intersection.

The early photo indicates the intersection is Second Avenue and Union Street. But Jeannette Voiland, an excellent research librarian at the Seattle Public Library, helped determine that the White Building in the picture above was at 1338 Fourth Avenue, on the southeast corner of Union Street.

This photo from the Museum of History and Industry is another view of the White Building at Fourth and Union. Another cool view is available here.

This picture from the University of Washington Libraries shows the site being prepared for the White Building in 1908.

The building that is now at the site where the White Building once stood was built in 1976, according to property records. A recent view is below.